


This Burn We Feel

by HappyJuicyfruit



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Grief/Mourning, Happy Ending, High School Student Derek Hale, M/M, Mutual Pining, Non-Linear Narrative, Warning: Kate Argent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-15
Updated: 2019-02-15
Packaged: 2019-10-28 15:45:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17790200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HappyJuicyfruit/pseuds/HappyJuicyfruit
Summary: “It hurts here?” His mother asked, running a hand over his knee.Derek nodded.“You didn’t fall down? Or hit it on anything?”Derek shook his head, his lip wobbling.“Oh sweetheart, this is a good thing,” his mother cooed. Derek bit his lip and stared at her. He did not see how this could be a good thing. “It’s your soulmate.”Soulmate? Derek blinked, looking down at his knee. He knew about soulmates. He knew his parents were soulmates, and that they always knew what the other was doing. Mommy felt what Daddy felt, and Daddy felt what Mommy felt.He didn’t think it was supposed to last this long though.—From the prompt: Soulmates can feel when their other half is in pain; emotional and physical.





	This Burn We Feel

**Author's Note:**

  * For [disaster_j](https://archiveofourown.org/users/disaster_j/gifts).



> This is for sterek-events Valentine’s Day exchange! I’m posting this from my phone, so I hope it works. 
> 
> I hope you like it! Happy Valentines Day everyone :) <3 
> 
> Notepadhalffull - I know you wanted angst, I hope it’s angsty enough for you! 
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> Warnings: There is brief mention of Kate Argent as a teacher assaulting Derek as a student. It’s not very long, but it’s in here if that is triggering for you.

Derek sat at a table surrounded by paper clippings and gossiping students. The leadership group was supposed to be designing the layout of the gym for the Valentine’s Day dance today, but no one was really working on anything but him.

 

And he kept getting distracted. 

 

The little things were fine- he didn’t even notice the secondary pain in his legs anymore. The little twinge in his wrist, or the slight twang on his hip. 

 

It was the big things - the sudden pain in his shoulder followed by a full body snap - that took his breath away for a second and made him drop his pen. 

 

Damnit, Stiles. 

 

“Are you okay?” 

 

Derek turned to the girl sitting next to him. She was new to Leadership, didn’t know who Derek’s soulmate was and thus didn’t understand Derek’s random winces of pain. 

 

“I’m fine.” Derek told her, turning back to his work. She turned with him, and stared blankly down at his page. Who joined a school club their last semester before graduating? 

 

Someone desperate to get an extracurricular listed for college, that’s who. 

 

That’s why he was here, at least. But he was almost done his second year of leadership, and had gotten a letter of recommendation from Ms. Kar, the clubs teacher, already. This girl was too late to get any of that. 

 

He just hopped his efforts were good enough to get him into- he dropped his pen again when a sharp pain flared on the side of his head. 

 

“Seriously, are you okay? What’s going on?” 

 

“Nothing,” Derek grumbled, ‘’my soulmates an idiot.” 

 

— 

 

Derek felt his soulmate for the first time at four years old. It was a sharp, sudden, pain in his knee, something he’d felt before, something like falling over after running really fast. 

 

But it didn’t stop. Not like his skinned knees did.  

 

His mother found him curled up in the floor of his bedroom, clutching his knee and crying and crying and crying. He only stopped when she had him curled in her lap, sitting on his bed. Her warm hand rubbing his back, with his face protectively curled into her neck.

 

When he was down to only sniffing against the soft skin of her neck, his mother asked what was wrong. He pulled his jeans up in reply, showing her his knee that still throbbed in pain-

 

There was nothing there. No mark, no blood. Just pain. 

 

“It hurts here?” His mother asked, running a hand over his knee. 

 

Derek nodded. 

 

“You didn’t fall down? Or hit it on anything?” 

 

Derek shook his head, his lip wobbling. 

 

“Oh sweetheart, this is a good thing,” his mother cooed. Derek bit his lip and stared at her. He did not see how this could be a good thing. “It’s your soulmate.” 

 

Soulmate? Derek blinked, looking down at his knee. He knew about soulmates. He knew his parents were soulmates, and that they always knew what the other was doing. Mommy felt what Daddy felt, and Daddy felt what Mommy felt. 

 

He didn’t think it was supposed to last this long though. 

 

His mother smiled when he told her this, pushing his hair back from his face with a sad look in her eyes.

 

“If it hurts like this, it means your soulmate is a human. They don’t heal like we do, remember? They’re hurts are going to take longer to go away. Like Paul.” 

 

Derek sniffed, it took his brother Paul  _ forever _ to heal from a skinned knee. He didn’t  _ want _ to feel that. 

 

But even as he thought it, the pain started to fade. Between one heartbeat and the next, it was gone. 

He let out a long breath, running his finger over his undamaged knee. 

 

He hoped his soulmate was okay. He hoped they had a mommy hugging them through the pain. 

 

“Is it gone?” 

 

Derek sniffed, “yeah.” 

 

“Good. This is wonderful news, baby, it means your soulmate is now old enough to share the bond with you. Now you know you could meet them at anytime!” 

 

Derek isn’t sure about that, he doesn’t want to meet some baby that follows him around. He already has to deal with Cora. He doesn’t want to meet them, not yet. 

 

He does quickly get used to the little pains that become a constant in his life after that, though. 

 

—

 

After leadership, Derek went down to watch the end of lacrosse practice. He crossed his arms and leaned against the stands, his eyes focused on one player in particular. 

 

He winced when Stiles fell flat on his face at the sight of him. Both in sympathy, and because he knew how much that hurt. He felt the burn on his own face. 

 

Stiles was up again quickly though, sending Derek a wave. Derek fondly shook his head at the boy. 

 

—

 

When Derek was nine, he woke up to a horrible pain in the middle of his chest. 

 

He didn’t know what it was, or how it got there. This wasn’t like the little bumps and bruises his soulmate usually had, this was deeper this was… this was in his heart. 

 

He ran downstairs, shouting the whole way down. 

 

“Mom! Dad! My soulmates having a heart attack!” 

 

Mom, Uncle Peter, and Laura met him at the bottom of the stairs, all with varying expressions of confusion and concern. 

 

“A heart attack?” His uncle asked, his eyes glued to where Derek was clutching his chest. 

 

Derek nodded frantically, “he’s dying!” 

 

“Okay, honey, come here it’s okay,” his mom picked him up, gently carrying him to the couch. Derek went willingly even though he’s spent the last year refusing to be carried anywhere. 

 

This was serious. And he wanted to be close to his Alpha right now. 

 

“Okay, sweetie, tell me what this is. What hurts?” His mom asked, gently rubbing the back of his neck. 

 

“My heart, his heart is-“ Derek sniffed, rubbing at his chest again. 

 

Laura came up and curled against his other side as Uncle Peter sat down on the coffee table across from him. Being surrounded by family, by pack, helped calm him down enough to take a breath. 

 

“It feels like his heart is breaking.” His mom’s soothing hand paused at his words. Peter’s face was pinched in front of him. “What? Is he… is he going to die?” 

 

Die before Derek even had a chance to meet him?

 

Peter shook his head, “no, Derek. To me it sounds like you soulmate isn’t experience a heart attack, but something much worse.” 

 

“What?!” 

 

“Nothing that will hurt him physically, love,” his mom reassured him, “this sounds like an emotional pain. A deep one. But your soulmate will be okay.” 

 

Emotional pain? Derek had never felt that from his soulmate before… 

 

“What happened?” 

 

“I’m afraid we don’t know,” Peter said, “it could be anything.” 

 

“Can I… can I help him?” Derek asked, looking up at his mother. 

 

“Oh my dear. If you meet him, you can try. But for pain like this, it might take a long time.” 

 

A long time… Derek clutched at his chest again, where his heart still felt like it was splitting in two. 

 

His soulmate was suffering from a broken heart. There was no way to fix it. 

 

—

 

Derek gave Stiles a ride home after practice, like he always did when the Jeep was in the shop (which was often). He smiled when Stiles rambled about his history class, then his science class, then lacrosse practice. It was only when they pulled into Stiles street that Stiles grew quiet. Derek felt a flutter in his own chest, and turned to the boy in confusion. 

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

Stiles shrugged, “how’s the party planning going?”

 

“Good, we’re almost done. So long as I can get the other people to do their jobs on time.” 

 

The flutter happened again, but Stiles turned away when Derek shot him a concerned look. 

 

“Have you heard back from any colleges yet?” 

 

Derek frowned, “not yet, but I should be hearing back soon. Stiles, are you okay?” 

 

Stiles nodded, giving him a tight lipped smile before climbing out of the car. 

 

“Stiles-“

 

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Derek.” 

 

He closed the car door before Derek could say anything else. 

 

—

 

The next day the pain in his chest hadn’t gone away - if anything, it’d gotten worse. His mom offered to let him take the day off but Derek refused. He was sure his soulmate was out there living his own life with this. This wasn’t even his pain. 

 

He could do this. 

 

He regretted his decision an hour into school. Sitting through class was unbearable. He couldn’t concentrate on the math Mr. Wong was writing on the board. He couldn’t focus on the worksheet in front of him. Everything went blurry when he tried to write an answer down, and he had a horrifying moment where he thought he would start crying right there, sitting in the middle of the classroom. He asked to go to the washroom. His teacher let him go with a concerned look. 

 

Clutching his chest, Derek walked outside instead. He felt better out here, somehow. Like he could breath. 

 

He was walking around the playground when he saw him, a boy, small and pale, but beautiful. His hair a mess around his face. His head hanging low as he sat on the swings, clutching his chest. 

 

Derek didn’t hesitate to wrap his arms around the kid. 

 

The pain in his chest lessened with the touch. He knew it would. 

 

Derek had found him. 

 

—

 

Stiles was avoiding him, but he didn’t know why. The Jeep was back, which was great and all, but it meant Derek had nowhere to corner the boy. Especially with Stiles running out of hallways and classrooms, and the school cafeteria, as soon as Derek walked into them. 

 

It was really messing up his plans for Valentine’s Day. 

 

—

 

Stiles mom was sick. Really sick. Stiles dad looked scared and pale and shaky every time Derek saw him. 

 

A few months after Derek found Stiles in the playground, Stiles was over at their house often. He and Derek would do their homework together in the living room with the rest of Derek’s siblings, before they all cuddled up on the couch together to watch a movie, or play video games. Sometimes Stiles brought his friend Scott over too. 

 

Sometimes Stiles would even smile. 

 

Stiles was pretty quiet, those first few months. He always got more quiet when he dad came to pick him up. When they all saw and smelled the grief pouring off the man, they didn’t have to ask why. 

 

Derek’s mom offered to let Stiles stay at their place, whenever they needed. They had a guest room that could be Stiles for entire weekends, if they wanted it. 

 

Stiles stayed with them a lot more, after that. 

 

—

 

Stiles looked nervous when he opened the door. Nervous, with a hint of afraid. Stiles had never been afraid of him before. 

 

Derek didn’t like it. 

 

“What’s up, Derek?” Stiles asked, leaning against the doorway. 

 

So Derek wasn’t even being invited inside anymore. He scowled, “why didn’t you come over last night?” 

 

Stiles shrugged. Derek had to push down his flare of annoyance. 

 

“You always come over Friday nights. Everyone missed you!” 

 

“Really?” Stiles asked, not even looking at Derek but down at his own feet. “Everyone?” 

 

Derek sighed. “Yes, everyone. Can you just tell me what’s wrong so I can fix it?” 

 

“Nothing's wrong, Derek. I figured I’d start missing Fridays now, so it’s easier later.” 

 

Derek stared at him in confusion, the painful flutters starting up in his chest again.

 

“What do you mean? Where are you going?”

 

Stiles let out a bitter laugh, “ _ I’m _ not going anywhere.”  

 

“Then what-“ 

 

He closed the door in Derek’s face. 

 

—

 

When Derek was eleven, the dark pain in his chest had finally loosened to the point where he didn’t feel it anymore. 

 

For almost two years he’s been haunted by it- secondary heartbreak that followed him like a dark cloud. 

 

He was sure Stiles still felt it. Maybe not the constant ache that it used to be, but Stiles had lost his mother. This pain would follow him forever. 

 

And Derek would be there with him, whenever he needed help with it. 

 

But for now, for the first time in two years, Derek was happy. He could smile again, howl again, run through the trees in his wolf form again - 

 

Right into Stiles. 

 

Who, oddly, didn’t scream. 

 

—

 

“He thinks you’re leaving him, idiot.”  Laura told him that night. Her and Peter both crossed their arms and looked at him down on him judgmentally where he lay sulking on the couch. 

 

Derek rolled over and ignored them. 

 

But he thought about that. 

 

Thought about the fact that his senior year was ending in a few months, and Stiles still had one more year to go. Thought about the fact that he had told Stiles all the different colleges he had applied to, including the ones on the east coast. He hadn’t wanted to get Stiles hopes up. Hadn’t wanted him to think that he was somehow following him to Berkeley before he even went himself. 

 

But they had never talked about what the two of them would do after Derek left for college. 

 

Derek thought about it, and realized Laura and Peter were right. 

 

— 

 

Stiles thought werewolves explained a lot. Derek was shocked by this announcement, to say the least. 

 

“I just never feel you. I didn’t know you were real,” Stiles explained.

 

That statement made even less sense. 

 

“Until you came up and hugged me on that swing, I didn’t know you were real,” Stiles said, sitting on a fallen log and playing with Derek’s clawed fingers. Clawed fingers that until ten minutes ago, Stiles didn’t know he had. 

 

Seriously, Stiles was taking this far too well. 

 

But also- “what? I used to fall all the time.” 

 

Stiles rolled his eyes. “Yeah, but then you healed, right? You just told me you heal extra fast.” 

 

“Yeah, but-“ 

 

“My parents took me to a doctor, Derek. Even the doctor didn’t think the quick flashes of pain I felt were real. He said it was my mind playing tricks on me so I’d feel like a normal kid. Because I didn’t have the similar feelings everyone else did. They thought my soulmate was either already dead, ten years younger than me, or I just didn’t have one.” He shrugged. “I accepted I was going to be alone a few months before you ran into me.” 

 

“Huh.” Derek has never thought about it… it made sense, for humans who didn’t know about werewolves to be confused. He wondered if Stiles ever missed getting to experience what his other friends had… 

 

“But being bonded with a werewolf is _so_ _much_ _cooler_ than everyone else’s dumb mates,” Stiles said with a cheeky grin. 

 

Derek grinned back. All fang, just to see Stiles eyes widen with delight. 

 

—

 

Derek made a plan. 

 

He recruited a few of the leadership students, which was easy enough, and tried to recruit Scott too. 

 

That took a little more effort… especially since Scott wouldn’t stop glaring at him. 

 

“Scott- I’m trying to show Stiles I’m  _ staying _ , stop looking at me like I’ve betrayed him already!” 

 

Scott did not look impressed. “Are you just doing this to get in his pants?” 

 

“What? No! I would never- I wouldn’t  _ do _ that. Especially not with Stiles.” 

 

Scott twisted his mouth but nodded. “What exactly do you want me to do?” He asked. “Not that I’m saying I’ll do it.” 

 

Derek let out a sigh of relief. He could work with this. 

 

—

 

When Derek was fifteen, something… strange happened. 

 

Paul was in his first year of college. Laura was in her second year of Alpha training. Cora had joined gymnastics and was gone all the time. Even Peter had a new job and was usually too busy to hang out… And Derek was… he felt lonely, for the first time ever.

 

And there was a new substitute teacher that was willing to fill that void. 

 

He knew it was wrong, but he also felt a thrill when she pushed him up against the closed classroom door and kissed him. He’d only ever kissed Stiles before, and they had both decided to try that again in a few years. 

 

But this kiss… this was more mature. This kiss was with tongue. With  _ hands _ . 

 

He felt proud, when she put her hand down his pants for the first time. Like he’d succeeded in something, somehow. Kate made him feel like he was special. 

 

At the time, he felt special. 

 

The sick and disgusted feelings don’t come until later. When he was alone in his room. 

 

Stiles knocked on the classroom door the next day, before Kate had a chance to undo Derek’s pants. 

 

Derek told himself it wasn’t relief that he felt at the sight of him. 

 

“Sorry, wrong class,” Stiles said, but dragged Derek out of there with him anyway, completely ignoring Kate’s yell after them that Derek had detention. 

 

Derek was too numb to say anything until Stiles had dragged him three blocks away from the school. Then he clued in that they weren’t heading towards either of their homes. 

 

“Stiles, where are we going?”

 

“I’m taking you to my dad.”

 

“What?” Derek stopped walking, pulling Stiles to a stop with him. “Why?”

 

“Because I know how she makes you feel, Derek.” Stiles said, fire in his eyes. “I felt the same hurt and disgust last night, right here.” Stiles pointed at his own chest, giving Derek a meaningful look. “I know what was going on. It’s not okay. I’m not letting her get away with it.” 

 

“But I was the one who-“

 

“You’re  _ fifteen _ , Derek, I don’t care if you stuck your tongue down her throat, she’s twenty-four years old and should know better. She shouldn’t be allowed to be in a room alone with you.” 

 

Derek jerked back, the feeling of disgust washing over him again. 

 

“Hey, hey come here-“ Stiles wrapped his arms around him. “It’s okay, I’ve got you.”

 

They stood like that for a long time. 

Stiles never let go. 

 

—

 

Derek taped the banner around Stiles Jeep while Lydia and Allison taped balloons to the windows. He had already tied pink streamers on the back of the trunk and placed a heart box of chocolates on the windshield. 

 

He stood back for one final look, nodding his head in approval. Then he turned to face the school doors, nervously adjusting the sleeves of his suit. 

 

He checked his watch and took a breath. 

 

One more minute before Scott was planned to bring Stiles outside. 

 

He was ready.

 

—

 

Kate was sent to jail. She tried to fight against the accusations, but it was futile. 

She had not been prepared for Stiles. 

 

Stiles not only had documented evidence of Kate pressing Derek against a door (which Stiles took from a tree through a second story window. Kate hadn’t thought she needed to check there, apparently), but he also had a voice recording of her telling a friend on the phone how hot a ‘Derek’ at the school was. From the way she spoke, it didn’t sound like she was describing a student. 

 

Derek never asked how Stiles got the voice recording. 

 

Afterward, Derek was forced to go to therapy once a week. Stiles was always sitting and waiting for him when his session was over. 

 

— 

 

Stiles walked out of the school and froze in shock. Then he was running - running and jumping and swinging around as Derek hugged him tight.

 

“Is that a yes?” Derek laughed, gesturing to the banner as much as he could with his arms full of Stiles. The banner that read,  _ ‘Will You Be My Valentine?’ _ in pink paint with his own sloppy writing. 

 

Stiles answer was kissing him. 

 

—

 

Stiles started talking a lot about college freshman year of high school. He obsessed over his GPA and extracurriculars compared to sports teams, and to top it off, volunteer hours at the hospital. 

 

By Christmas freshman year, Stiles decided he wanted to go to Berkeley. Just like his mom. He refused to accept anything less.

 

Worried, Derek started looking into how the hell he was ever going to get accepted into a school like Berkeley. 

 

—

 

The dance was beautiful. Derek had been in charge of the lights, and was very happy that the twinkling ceiling turned out so well. Stiles took ten pictures of it to show off to the pack later. 

 

Derek took pictures of Stiles to do the same thing. 

 

They slow danced, and drank punch, and laughed and kissed.  A few hours in, Derek pulled Stiles outside, wrapped his arms around his shoulders to keep him warm. 

 

“I got in,” he said with a grin, watching Stiles carefully. 

 

“Got in where?”

 

“Berkeley, I got into Berkeley.”

 

Stiles jerked around, grabbing his arm. “What?”

 

“I know how badly you want to go there, that’s why I’ve spent the last two years doing crap like this.” Derek gestured at the gym. 

 

Stiles laughed, “oh my god, I thought you were trying to get away from me. Derek! You did all this so we could stay together?” 

 

Derek grabbed Stiles flailing hand from the air and pulled him in close. “Of course. I would do anything to stay with you.”

 

Stiles shook his head with a smile, pulling Derek into a kiss. Derek’s chest felt like it was going to burst with happiness. 

 

He wasn’t sure if it was his heart or Stiles that felt that way. 

 

He was pretty sure it was both. 

 

—

End <3 

  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed it! Leave a comment or kudos to let me know :)


End file.
